Those are a few of the big-picture insights I learned in 25 years of writing about money. Saving, investing, taxes, credit and insurance — it’s almost like personal finance was confusing on purpose. Marketing mattersAdvertising existed 25 years ago, but not on a computer in your pocket that you look at 100 times a day. You do that by establishing financial goals. Time-for-money is a failMost people cannot get ahead solely by trading their time for money at a job.